. >> woodruff: plus we have two takes on close congressional contests, starting with gwen ifill's report from the bay state. >> ifill: we're in massachusetts where the race for the senate seat once held by ted kennedy has become a surprising and expensive dead heat. and an unusual race to the ideological middle. >> suarez: stu rothenberg and susan page offer up other senate matchups to watch. >> woodruff: then, we update the conflict in syria amid reports that weapons have landed in the hands of militants linked to al qaeda. >> suarez: publicity stunt or scientific achievement? hari sreenivasan talks to miles o'brien about yesterday's supersonic freefall. >> woodruff: and kwame holman remembers arlen specter, the independently minded pennsylvania senator who served as both a republican and a democrat. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> computing surrounds us. sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it's very surprising in where you find it. soon, computing intelligence in unexpected places will change our lives in truly profou